Hey Lifted! Family -

Whew! What a week. I wish I had all the words at the moment to share the depths of my heart (I don’t but I’m grateful for the reminder from Black Liturgies that it’s ok right now in this season for me to just be.) - Instead of the best words, I have gratitude… for this community and all the ways we make space for one another in the ebbs and flows of life. I’m grateful for permission to be authentic with one another, I’m thankful for belonging, and for an even deeper resolve to keep nurturing community like ours for the hope of our children! Thank you for being equally committed to this mission and this work. Onward we press.

Caregiver Action Items:

• If you can make it, join us at the monthly workshop tomorrow at Lake B from 1:00 - 4:00 PM.

  
  

• Let me know ASAP if you are able to come and perform at the GTAM show this coming Friday - 11/15 - (call time, location, and attire details below).

  
  

• If you have the time to pitch in as a volunteer this season, see the summary of this week’s caregiver meeting below and jump on in!

  
  

• Snack pantry donations! We are taking donations of non-perishable individually packaged snack items for our weekly/monthly rehearsals as well as 8 oz. size bottles of water. Some snack ideas include: popcorn, fruit snacks, chips, dried fruit, crackers, cookies, etc. Drop off at any rehearsal at the check-in table.

  
  

Saturday Workshop Tomorrow!: We will meet at Lake B tomorrow from 1:00 - 4:00 PM for our rescheduled Saturday workshop.

GTAM 25 Year Celebration - Guest Performance - 11/15: Our performance for the Grace & Truth Apostolic Ministries 25th Anniversary Celebration is this coming Friday, November 15th. The call time will be 6:30 PM at GTAM’s building located at 9425 S 248th Street - Kent, WA 98030. We will be performing the following songs: ‘He’ll Make It Alright’ and ‘I’ll Praise Your Name’ (with ‘Excellence Medley’ as a backup). Attire will be head to toe blacks with stoles provided at the show. Also, feel free to share any carpool needs in the 2024-25 WhatsApp chat.

Caregiver/Volunteer Meeting Summary: Here is a summary of our meeting on Wednesday for those of you who weren’t able to be there.

1) I provided a quick update regarding the Lifted! organization including our new status as a 501c3 organization as well as our formalized partnership with Lake B as our fiscal sponsor.

2) I introduced volunteer leads and quickly went over areas of responsibility:

• Crystal - crystalhairston@lbpc.org - Director and vision/mission

• Board of Directors - Crystal Hairston (President), Melinda Mackey-O’Brien (Vice President), Debbie Anthony (Secretary), Rachel Jackson (Treasurer), and Lina Thompson (Director)

• Aaliyah - aaliyahsdahlias@gmail.com - Assistant Director and Youth Leadership Council Lead

• Bee - beemattox@gmail.com - Website & graphic design, and merchandise/attire

• Benji - benjidemps@lbpc.org - Audio/Visual/Event Production

• Brianna - (206) 390-2313 - Administrative and rehearsal coordination

• Hannah - hannahfarkas89@gmail.com - Concert event coordination

  
  

3) We discussed ways that caregivers can lend a hand this season. As they say … many hands make light work. If you have skills to contribute in the areas below, please shoot a note to either myself or Brianna (contact info above) and let us know how you’d like to contribute. If you would like to join the volunteer team for the upcoming Christmas concert, please get in touch with Hannah (contact info above).

• Family Advocate

• Chorister Support

• Section Leaders

• Chaperones

• Check-Ins

• Food/Snack Support

• Sewing/Crafting

• Fundraising

• Grant Writing

• Administrative Support

• Social Media management

• Content Gatherers

• Audio/Visual Support

• Videography, Photography

4) I gave a reminder of all of our upcoming events and performances. Please see the ‘Upcoming Events’ section below and connect to the shared Google calendar in the “Members-Only” area of our website.

5) And finally, we have made the decision to go with head-to-toe blacks with red/orange/yellow stoles (provided) for the Christmas concert. I know we discussed doing purple in the meeting, but we decided that the key to success this year is SIMPLICITY! Our team is on deck to help find shirts, pants, skirts, shoes. etc. and can coordinate a clothing swap if there is enough interest in that.

Please make sure to take good care of yourselves and don’t hesitate to stay home from rehearsal to get some rest if you aren’t feeling 100%. We need those voices strong considering how much we have to look forward to as we bring 2024 to a close!

Upcoming Events

• 11/09/24 – Saturday Workshop @ Lake B - 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

• 11/13/24 – Wednesday Rehearsal @ Lake B– 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

• 11/15/24 – GTAM 25 Year Celebration - (6:30 PM Call Time) - 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

• 11/20/24 – Wednesday Rehearsal @ Lake B– 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

• 11/27/24 – No Rehearsal for Thanksgiving Week

• 12/04/24 – MANDATORY Wednesday Rehearsal @ Lake B– 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

• 12/07/24 – Saturday Workshop @ Lake B - 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

• 12/07/24 – MANDATORY Dress Rehearsal @ Lake B - 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

• 12/08/24 – Christmas Concert - (Call Time 2:00 PM) - 4:00 - 5:00 PM

• 12/11/24 – Holiday Party @ Lake B– 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

• 12/14/24 - Seattle Opera’s Black Artist Market - Small Ensemble Performance - (TBD Call Time) - 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

  
  

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